


please romaine calm

by chxrrybomb



Category: RuPaul's Drag Race (US) RPF
Genre: Borderline crack, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, Humor, Lesbian AU, Reverse Vampirism, Supernatural Elements, Vampire AU, all the angst is just dramatic irony in disguise, cherrybomb!katya, i mean the pun title and these notes tell you all you need to know, katya is a plant gay, she owns a plant store and has a garden!!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-17 15:13:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29968278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chxrrybomb/pseuds/chxrrybomb
Summary: in which trixie not-so-mysteriously becomes a reverse vampire and, thirsty for chlorophyll, accidentally drains the plants from a beautiful garden in town. the owner of the local plant store, katya, is not happy about it.
Relationships: Trixie Mattel/Katya Zamolodchikova
Comments: 6
Kudos: 28





	please romaine calm

**Author's Note:**

> oh my god i hate posting things i haven't finished but i love this too much to wait any longer. i'm already working on the next chapter and tbh i can't imagine there will be more than two so i absolutely vow to wrap it up and get it out here as fast as possible. this fic is so ridiculous and i hope you have as much fun reading it as i have had writing it. the tags really sum it up. katya doesn't show up immediately but im not even sorry bc the beginning is my favorite part and i PROMISE to make it all worth it in the end
> 
> (btw this was inspired by a freaking BUFFY AU that i started so feel free to scream at me until i deliver on that too 👀)
> 
> [BTW 2.0 this is kind the house i'm imagining in that one scene (you'll know it when you see it)](https://town-n-country-living.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Gothic-House.jpg)

  
  
  


_ Imagine a vegetarian becoming a vampire _ , Trixie muses to herself, bored in her final class before the weekend.  _ It’s not like they eat steak or anything, but they literally drink  _ blood _. That’s not vegetarian friendly _ . 

The class is botany, and it’s her final gen ed course as well as her final science credit. She thought it would be more interesting than any of the other science courses—between the on campus greenhouse and the beauty of plants in general, all the pretty flowers and strong trees, what’s not to love?—but it only took a couple of weeks for her to learn that it was just like any other general education science class. Nothing but lectures and pop quizzes from the textbook that costs more than her kidney and gains more use as a pillow than a  _ book _ .

_ Could a vampire be a vegetarian? _ she continues to wonder as she doodles in her notebook.  _ Not like in  _ Twilight _ where being a vegetarian means animal blood instead of human blood, but a real vegetarian? Can they survive on chlorophyll? _

She ponders for fifteen more minutes before scoffing to herself. She’s being ridiculous. Vampires aren’t even real. And even if they were, what right did she have to criticize them for their dietary choices?

Little does she know, in a few weeks, she’ll find out. But for now, she’s listening to her professor introduce their final project: to choose a plant to take care of for the rest of the semester and write a report on, due during finals. She groans internally. Keeping a plant in her dorm room isn’t as fun as visiting the greenhouse would be, but maybe she can find a plant that piques her interest.

Leaving the classroom, she hears some of her classmates prattling on about some plants they want to use—sunflowers, orchids, monsteras, bonsai trees—and sure, they’re all beautiful and interesting, but she can’t fight the surge of ambitious competition within her. She needs to outdo them. Find something  _ cooler _ and  _ more rare _ than anything else her classmates will come up with—even the botany major freshmen.

Trixie googles plants the second she gets home, and spends the entire weekend looking for the perfect plant and hunting it down on the black market. 

She feels like such a rebel. 

_ The black market!! _

When her roommate comes home, she angles her screen down and lowers the brightness, pretends she’s just scrolling on tumblr and thriving on the fact that she’s keeping her  _ black market shopping _ a secret. 

She gets the plant a week later.

It’s a rare breed of the already rare  _ Darlingtonia californica _ , a carnivorous plant that is also referred to as the cobra lily. It appealed to Trixie for a few reasons. For one, it was rare and hard to take care of. If she succeeded, she would certainly best everyone in her class, win her professor’s approval, and earn an A, all in one fell swoop. Second, the guy who sold it to her had referred to it as a  _ vampire plant _ , this particular plant bred specifically to actually suck blood from living creatures rather than just trapping their prey and absorbing its nutrients.

Trixie had been told it wouldn’t need anything larger than insects, maybe rodents, so she wasn’t the least bit concerned about keeping the plant in her room in the properly maintained temperature. It would be in its preferred environment, and of course, she wouldn’t have to worry about her roommate messing with it or accidentally killing it

When the plant arrived, it looked a little different than she was expecting, but given the crossbreeding element, she accepted it at face value. It was still beautiful, mostly green and nourished, its translucent leaves still threaded with red veins indicating its most recent meal.

“What’s that thing?” Kim suddenly asked from the doorway. Trixie jumped.

“It’s just a plant I have to take care of for the rest of semester.”

“Well, it looks kind of scary.”

Trixie laughs, wondering how much she wants to tell Kim about it. She can’t help herself when she says, “It’s carnivorous.”

Kim’s jaw goes slack. “Are you serious?” Trixie nods, a proud plant mother. “What are you going to call it? Nosferato? Edward Cullen?” 

“Ha ha, very funny,” Trixie rolls her eyes. But the idea sticks with her long after Kim’s left her and the plant. She admires it for a while longer, humming thoughtfully. “Maybe you should have a vampire name. I’ll just call you Vampy until I think of something better.

Of course, the name  _ Vampy _ stuck, and Kim teased her mercilessly about it.

After her first week with Vampy, she was convinced she was royally fucking up. Vampy didn’t have those beautiful red veins by the end of the week, no matter how many insects Trixie fed him. She gave him a few mice, but couldn’t stand the thought of what happened to them, so she created a caged set up to let the mouse loose in before she literally ran out the door to go to a class or to the library. 

She didn’t want to see what happened.

The mouse was gone when she returned, but Vampy looked pale as ever. “Are you kidding me, Vamps? What does it take to make you happy?”

That night, she left out a slab of raw meat and slept on the couch. Vampy looked better the next day, but not like she knew he should. 

By the end of the week, he was wilting slightly, and Trixie was getting desperate. 

“Hey, you wanna come out with us tonight? Sasha and Tati are both performing spoken word pieces at open mic night.”

Trixie pouted. “I want to, but look,” she gestures at Vampy’s weak form, starting to shrivel in on itself. “I have to do some extra research. I’m worried he won’t last the night.” Kim rolls her eyes. “Listen, it’s not emotional attachment, I  _ have _ to ace this project.”

“Oh, good, I was worried you cared more about a plant than your friends.”

“Cut the sarcasm,” Trixie laughed. “Just because I named Vampy doesn’t mean I prefer a plant to our friends. I just  _ have _ to prove I can do this.” 

Kim laughed, “I always forget you’re a competitive academic. They’ll understand. Maybe you can send them a bouquet of carnivorous plants. Or roses, whatever.”

“Thanks Kim, but I think I’ll go with roses.”

“They’ll be waiting,” she says as she leaves, and Trixie sighs, thinking about roses. She should have picked something easy to take care of, but she had to be ridiculous. Of course, if she could figure out what Vampy needed to survive, she wouldn’t feel so ridiculous.

She sets up at her desk, Vampy by her side, intent on doing research until she gets to the bottom of this, even if it means contacting the person she bought the plant from on the black market to figure out what she could possibly be doing wrong for her poor plant. Unfortunately, she’s overworked and  _ exhausted _ and only makes it about ten minutes into her research before she decides to just rest her eyes for a minute, lying down on her folded arms right on her desk.

She doesn’t know how much time has passed when she wakes up to Kim shaking her awake. She lifts her head, groggy and disoriented. It’s still dark outside and Kim isn’t in her pajamas yet so it couldn’t have been  _ that _ long, but with the way Trixie slept, she wouldn’t be surprised if Kim told her it was already the next night. “What?” she grumbles.

“Jesus how long have you been there?” Kim mutters. “I was wondering if you wanted to get dinner with me and Bob?”

“Dinner? What about the show?” she asks. Kim frowns at her. “Wait, what time is it?”

“Seven thirty,” Kim answers, and Trixie’s eyes would be bugging out of her head if she felt like she had the energy for that. Instead, she can only frown and stare at the clock on her phone uselessly, counting the hours she’d been asleep. Almost a full twenty four hours. “Are you okay? You look like shit.”

“I  _ feel _ like shit,” Trixie mumbles. She rubs her head, the remnants of whatever disturbing dreams had plagued her over the past few hours seeming to grow more vivid rather than fading away like most dreams do.

“At least your plant is looking better,” Kim points out, and Trixie turns to look at Vampy, looking alive and well, his veins full and red and satisfied. It’s the best she’s seen him look, even compared to when she first got him. “I’m glad you figured out how to take care of it.” Trixie frowns. She hadn’t done anything but neglect it while she slept for almost a whole  _ day _ . Why does he suddenly look like the healthiest plant in the universe? “So I’m guessing you don’t want to join us for dinner,” Kim says when Trixie doesn’t respond.

“I should probably catch up on homework,” Trixie tells her. She actually wants to investigate what could have been Vampy’s saving grace, but it isn’t like the homework excuse is a  _ lie _ given that Trixie missed an entire day of her life. “Tell Bob I said hey and I’ll be there next time.”

“I will. Do you want me to bring you back something? We’re going to that place with the veggie burgers you really like.”

Trixie wants to say yes, but then it dawns on her that she isn’t hungry. But she  _ should be _ . Right? She hasn’t eaten since lunchtime  _ yesterday.  _ “I’ll just make something here. Thanks though.”

Kim nods, but doesn’t make an attempt to leave. Trixie shifts under her intense gaze. “Are you sure you’re okay? You look…I don’t know. Different.”

Trixie can only imagine how rough she looks after sleeping on her desk for so long, but she doesn’t comment on it. Instead she shrugs. “I’m fine, Kim, I promise. Go have fun with Bob.”

She hovers for another moment before finally stepping back. “Text me if you need anything, okay?” Trixie nods and smiles at her roommate before she turns to leave the room, closing it behind her. Trixie wastes no time in rushing to her mirror to see the damage.

It doesn’t take any time at all to understand what Kim meant when she said Trixie looked  _ different _ . Her eyes are freaking  _ green _ . She blinks a few times in the mirror to see if maybe she’s imagining it, but nothing changes. “What the fuck,” she mutters to herself before heading to the bathroom. Maybe the mirror is defective.

But her eyes are green in the bathroom too. She tries to stay calm as she washes her face. Her skin probably hates her right now. As she takes all her makeup off, she considers the different kinds of facial masks she has and wonders which would be the best to use in this circumstance. She decides on a deep exfoliating mask, but after she’s dried off her face and looks in the mirror, she drops the towel in shock. 

Her skin is in the best condition she’s ever seen it in, so clear its practically glowing, so smooth and so perfect that she doesn’t even need her exfoliant mask, or any other product for that matter. And her eyes are  _ still _ green. She doesn’t understand. Deciding to take a shower, Trixie starts up the water to let it warm before she strips. Catching a glance at herself in the mirror, she frowns again. She’s never been particularly athletic, nor has she ever been muscular, and that’s always been just fine with her. However, looking in the mirror now, she can see some of her muscle definition where she didn’t think it existed, or at least didn’t think it was visible.

Shrugging it off, she climbs into the shower, but as she soaps up, its impossible to not notice that her body not only looks different, but it  _ feels _ different, both in her form and in the way it moves. She figures it must be an effect of having slept for a whole day. That has to be major rejuvenation right?

But still—sleeping for almost twenty-four hours in the most uncomfortable place in the world isn’t normal. And speaking of which, wouldn’t Trixie have a crick in her neck? Or feel any kind of evidence for how she spent all that time? And  _ why _ isn’t she hungry? She wonders if she ought to call a doctor, but she doesn’t have time, not after losing a day. Her main priority for the weekend had been to revive Vampy, and even though that seems to have been  _ accomplished _ , Trixie needs to know  _ how _ , for her report and for next time.

As she figured they would be, Trixie’s eyes are still green when she gets out of the shower, but the shade looks different than before, almost like they’re changing back to brown. She’s not sure if that would alarm her more than the fact that they changed colors to begin with.

She wastes no more time thinking about her eye color and gets straight back to work, setting up at her desk just like last night. There’s no chance she could fall asleep again, but she decides to go grab a redbull anyway, cracking it open on her way back to her room. She frowns after only a sip. It doesn’t taste the same, and she doesn’t know if it’s because of her or the red bull itself. Maybe her taste buds are broken too? It sounds like another problem for future Trixie.

She works all night, researching everything she can access on Vampy and his species, as well as what differentiates rare breeds of already rare plants. She probably spends more time looking for sources than reading what scarce information she actually finds, and by the time the sun rises, she has all her homework done but remains clueless on Vampy’s mysterious and sudden recovery.

She leans back in her desk chair with a sigh. “I wish you could just tell me,” she says to Vampy, staring at him for a moment, willing him to start speaking, It wouldn’t be the weirdest thing that had happened to her today. Or maybe it would, but it wouldn’t shock her as much as it might have a few days ago. “Feel free to learn to speak or write today while I’m in class,” she says before she stands and starts getting ready. 

Today is going to be  _ hell _ , she just knows it. She doesn’t feel tired now after her  _ nap _ yesterday, but she just knows that the longer the day goes on, the harder she’ll have to fight to stay awake, especially starting around the early evening. But she can’t afford to destroy her sleep schedule any further.

Surprisingly, as she goes about her day, she only feels more rejuvenated. She studies outside between classes, enjoying the beautiful day, and accomplishing so much of her tasks with ease. She thinks maybe she can even get ahead in a few of her classes. She gets so wrapped up in everything that she misses lunchtime, and doesn’t even think about food until she gets home after her last class and smells whatever Kim is cooking in the kitchen. Trixie frowns. “Welcome home, you whore,” Kim calls out. 

“Hey, Kim, I’ll be right back,” Trixie says, bypassing the kitchen and heading straight for her room and sinks slowly onto the bed, doing the math in her head. She hasn’t eaten in  _ fifty four _ hours.  _ Fifty four!!!! _ That’s definitely not fucking normal. But she feels  _ fine _ . Her energy is lower than it was this morning, but it’s been almost twenty four hours since she woke up. And speaking of which, she isn’t even that tired.

Looking in the mirror, she sees that her eyes are still not brown, and if anything they’re almost  _ yellow _ , which seems like a major medical problem except that other than the color of the iris, they seem normal. She decides to check her temperature, and then see what Kim is cooking. The thermometer reads 74℉ (23℃) and Trixie groans and she throws the thermometer back down on the bathroom counter.

“Kim, do we have another thermometer? The one in the bathroom is broken.”

“The one in the blue case?” Trixie nods. “I just bought that one.”

“Well, it’s broken. It told me my temperature was  _ seventy four _ .” Kim’s brow creases and she walks away from the stove, spatula still in hand and presses her free hand to Trixie’s forehead. They both jump when Kim recoils suddenly.

“What the fuck,” Kim says. “Do you feel okay?” She squints at Trixie, “And can you please tell me what’s up with those contacts?”

Trixie doesn’t know where to start. “What are you making?” she asks instead.

“I thought we could have tacos. I’m using that vegetarian chicken you like to make up for everything you missed this weekend.” Trixie frowns at that too. That’s one of her favorite meals, and after so long without food, the smell  _ should _ make her mouth water, but it doesn’t. “Where were you on Saturday anyway?” Kim asks, as she finishes up the cooking.

“You’re not going to believe it, Kim,” Trixie says. She doesn’t give her roommate a chance to respond before she continues. “I was asleep.” Kim blanks at her, like she isn’t quite following. “All day,” Trixie elaborates. “Like, I fell asleep after you left to go to Tatianna and Sasha’s show—at my desk, and then I woke up when you invited me to dinner last night.” 

Kim looks shocked, but not as much as Trixie was expecting. She mostly looks confused and concerned. “I  _ thought _ you were wearing the same clothes, but I didn’t want to say anything,” she says softly, turning back to the stove so the food doesn’t burn. Trixie waits until she brings the vegetarian chicken to set on the table where she’s already put everything else and sits down before she says anything else. “That’s a whole day Trixie.”

“I know! I wasn’t even hungry when I woke up either. And I’m not tired now, even though I stayed up all night. And my skin? Bitch it’s so clear. Even after wearing makeup for like, the entire weekend. I swear it’s never looked so—”

“Wait, wait, back up a second. When’s the last time you ate? Please tell me you had lunch today.”

“Actually I didn’t,” Trixie says. “I haven’t gotten hungry at all. It’s been like, fifty-four hours.”

“Trixie!” Kim screams, loading up a plate without hesitation like she’s prepared to force feed her fourteen tacos. Trixie wouldn’t put it past her. “Eat! Right now!” Trixie scrunches up her nose. 

“No offense Kim, but why does it smell so weird? Did you use a different seasoning or something?”

The stare she receives is blank. “Trixie, it smells the same as always. I made everything exactly the same way.”

“Huh. That’s weird.” Trixie stares down at the plate Kim shoved in front of her and thinks about how the redbull had tasted weird too. She doesn’t know if she should give Kim a heads up about how her taste buds are dysfunctional, probably, but she decides against it, choosing instead to pick up the taco and take a bite. It may smell unusual, but it certainly  _ looks _ the same. It only takes Trixie a few seconds to realize it  _ absolutely _ doesn’t taste the same. She spits it out and hopes Kim isn’t too offended.

“Maybe I really am getting sick,” Trixie muses out loud. “That’s why everything smells weird and tastes weird. Isn’t it true that when you have a fever you lose your appetite or something? No wonder I slept so much the other day. We’re going to need to get a new thermometer though. Oh my god, what if I have the flu? Isn’t flu season coming up or something?” Trixie keeps talking until she looks back up at Kim, who’s wearing a look on her face that sets Trixie on edge. “What?”

“Trixie, I don’t think you have the flu.”

“You don’t?” She frowns. “What do you think it is?

“Just hear me out, okay? And stay calm.” Naturally, that makes Trixie start to panic. But even panicking doesn’t feel normal. Shouldn’t her heart be racing? “This is going to sound crazy, but I think you might be a vampire.”

For a long moment, Trixie doesn’t know what to think. Part of her thinks it makes too much sense, but some aspects just don’t add up. A  _ vampire _ ? She laughs. Ridiculous. “Are you drunk?” she finally asks Kim, who doesn’t look amused by any of this. Her own freshly made taco sits in front of her, getting colder by the second, and if anything lets Trixie know Kim isn’t messing around, it’s that. “But I was in the sun all day today,” she says. “I haven’t been attacked, or forced to drink anyone’s blood. I think I would know if I’d been  _ sired _ .”

Kim shakes her head, “Not that kind of vampire. A reverse vampire.” 

“Okay, you lost me. I don’t know what that is. It wasn’t covered on  _ Buffy _ .”

“When you told me your plant was carnivorous, I got curious and did some research. You know about  _ vampire plants _ right?”

“ _ Yes _ , of course,” Trixie snorts, “Why do you think I decided to name him  _ Vampy _ ? But come on Kim, the moniker  _ vampire plant _ isn’t literal. It’s just because they’re carnivorous and that in itself isn't a normal plant thing.”

“Yeah, but Trixie your plant isn’t normal. Haven’t you figured that from your research?”

“I knew that before I even bought it. It’s a rare breed of  _ Darlingtonia californica. _ Apparently there are only three like it in existence.”

“And  _ where _ did you buy it? For how much?”

Trixie leans back in her chair, almost cowering. She should have seen this one coming. “I don’t want to tell you,” she says. Kim raises her eyebrows, and Trixie heaves a sigh. “I got it on the black market. I thought it was a good deal for a rare plant, but the seller must have just been another Ethan Rayne unleashing chaos on the world.” She doesn’t feel so rebellious anymore.

“Trixie, you total dumbass,” Kim scolds. “Your precious  _ Vampy _ the vampire plant sired you! That’s why it was dying before! It wasn’t getting enough blood, but then you fell asleep within its reach and it drained you to the brink of death. Now it’s in perfect health, and you’re a fucking reverse vampire!” 

“Um, okay. So explain to me what that is?”

Kim groans. “Trixie are you serious? It’s literally a reverse vampire. The opposite of a vampire. Vampires die in sunlight and have to drink animal blood, but reverse vampires can go out in the sunshine, and actively need it, and survive off of plant blood.” Trixie blinks. “Chlorophyll! Are you failing botany or something?”

“No. I’m passing with flying colors, thank you very much. I just…I’m a little confused about the blood thing. And concerned, because, you know, I’m a vegetarian.”

“Right, but you don’t need to drink blood.”

“But Vampy did.”

Kim rolls her eyes, “Vampy is a fucking plant. You’re a human being. Or well, I guess you aren’t anymore.”

“But how am I supposed to get enough chloroform to live?”

“I don’t know, find a good garden? But I wouldn’t worry too much because apparently reverse vampires are harder to kill. You also require less sleep and sustenance, which is probably why you aren’t tired or hungry.” Trixie hums. “And maybe do some of your own research. I shouldn’t know more about your species than you, Trixie. That’s just sad.”

“Fuck off, you mere mortal.”

Once Trixie gets over the fact that she doesn’t like her favorite food anymore, she sets out to do some research. She squints at Vampy every so often, not sure if she should be grateful to him or pissed off. But one thing is for sure: she’s going to need to feed him better.

That evening, Trixie learns everything she can find about reverse vampires. They’re incredibly rare, given the small amount of vampiric plants and the fact that reverse vampires can’t sire other humans. To make up for that, they’re harder to kill. Where regular vampires can be killed or harmed by holy water, sunlight, fire, beheading, wooden stakes to the heart, and other religious relics, reverse vampires are unaffected by most of those things. Religious artifacts including holy water have no negative or fatal affect on them, sunlight gives them life force, and the only fire that can kill a reverse vampire has to be 4000℉, or holy fire. Beheading will kill a reverse vampire, but a stake through the heart is nothing but a minor wound that will heal in no time.

And the healing? Trixie feels set for life. Even if she had an arm chopped off, it would grow back. Which really creeps her out, but also she doesn’t care as long as she gets her arm back. In addition to healing, her senses are also enhanced, and she assumes her IQ will go up, as reverse vampires develop an IQ of 170 at minimum. There are some theories about sixth senses and other abilities, but Trixie will have to learn those as they happen.

The only hiccup is that nighttime can weaken reverse vampires. But since Trixie’s strength is higher than normal now, she thinks being outside in the dark would just be like existing in the world on a bad human day. 

There’s only one way to find out.

She tells Kim she’s going out to test how she fares in the darkness. Kim offers to go with her, but Trixie declines, thinking that it probably would be better to test this without anyone around to make a fool of herself in front of. Kim rolls her eyes. “Yeah I’m sure nighttime just makes you really clumsy,” she says, and Trixie starts to wonder if maybe she should have asked Kim to come with her, especially since she has yet to get much chlorophyll.

Kim had graciously allowed her to eat every vegetable they had in the house, but since that was just a bag of iceberg lettuce and one bag of frozen broccoli, it didn’t get Trixie very far, especially since she still isn’t exactly sure how to suck the chlorophyll out of plants. 

It’s too bad she can’t just ask her sire.  _ Fucking plant _ , Trixie thinks to herself as she walks down the street, looking like a place where she can experiment with her new feeding ritual in peace. It’s weird being out at night like this, though it isn’t quite what she expected. The sun kills normal vampires, and while she knew nighttime wouldn’t  _ kill _ her, she expected at least some level of pain or discomfort. And  _ yes _ , she’s fortunate that isn’t happening, but she almost thinks she would prefer it to the way she feels weak. It’s the kind of weakness that you feel in your bones upon first waking, where you can’t seem to clench your fist the way you could at any other time of the day, where you feel vaguely dizzy for getting out of bed too fast, where just standing in place feels like a chore. Nevertheless, she pushes on, hoping that if she figures this out, the effects of the darkness won’t feel so bad.

The first place Trixie decides to stop is a park a little ways down from her house. It’s well lit, except for this one corner that is shrouded in darkness. She can see it fine now, what with her enhanced vision, but she knows any mere mortal roaming the streets will be unable to see her if they pass on the sidewalk. There are some hefty looking plants with big leaves, as well as a few other varieties. As far as experimentation goes, Trixie thinks she’s found the perfect place.

It takes a few awkward tries of Trixie angling herself around the plant and sinking her teeth in (she wishes she’d brought a mirror so she could see what her fangs actually look like), she finally gets it right. 

All her expectations for this process are shattered by the first plant she sucks dry. For one, plants contain more chlorophyll than she thought, and even though draining the plant doesn’t take very long, it does take longer than the handful of seconds she was expecting. Second, she irrationally expected the chlorophyll to taste like green juice, but it doesn’t. It tastes better. She’s sure that a few days ago it wouldn’t have tasted very good to her, but now that her body and tastes have transformed, she’s sure she’s found her new favorite food.

She tests a few different plants in the area, realizing that they all have their own unique taste, but she can’t decide on a favorite. All she knows is that they make both her former favorite vegan chicken tacos and the frozen broccoli she ate before her hunt taste like bowls of sludge, and these plants aren’t even in their best shape. Of course, Trixie is pretty sure she’s just killed them for good. They’re white as clean snow without their chlorophyll, and it’s both haunting and awesome to see. She’s curious what people will say tomorrow when they notice them in the daytime, but she won’t be around to find out.

Trixie stands to leave the park, noting that while she does feel a little better, she still feels distinctly weak. It wasn’t quite enough. In a lot of vampire lore, new vampires are more insatiable than normal, starved from their transformation and the new energy they now possess. Even though she doesn’t anticipate being up to her new standard while wandering around in the dark, she knows that she should aim for a big meal tonight until she can figure out how to manage her new diet in the future. 

Moving too far from home would be unwise while Trixie is still adapting to her new state of existence, so she makes a point to loop around, staying within a half mile radius of her home. It doesn’t really provide many options, especially given that most of that space is on campus or very close to it, places so well lit that it makes being sneaky impossible. Not to mention college nightlife never wanes. Even on weeknights, there are parties, and even if there aren’t, students are walking to and from the library or the art building or the McDonald’s across the street at all hours of the night. If Trixie wants to ensure she’s well fed, she’s going to have to take some risks.

There’s a neighborhood about a mile away from where Trixie lives, in the opposite direction of campus that’s full of large houses with big yards. Most of the residents hire landscapers to come in and fill their yards up with beautiful, lush plants, and that’s where Trixie decides to go. 

It takes about fifteen minutes for her to get there, and the whole way she tries to seem as inconspicuous as possible, like someone who’s just out for an evening stroll, but it’s going to be different in the neighborhood than it was on the sidewalk, especially since about 95% of the neighborhood has apparently turned in for the night—only a couple of houses have any lights left on, and even then, it’s just one or two windows in the house, and some are only lit by the glow of a television.

As Trixie should have expected, this neighborhood is as well lit as campus, but most of the backyards are dark. If she can find one that seems full of plants and also doesn’t have any security cameras, she’ll be set. With how many rich people live in this neighborhood, it may be futile, but Trixie is determined. Most houses with a security camera at the front, Trixie immediately rules out, and unfortunately, most of the ones that  _ don’t _ have one, have little to no good plants.

Until one house.

It stands out to Trixie first because while most of the houses in the neighborhood are made of light colored brick with sleek pastel shutters on the windows, this house is dark, with large unforgiving windows and no shutters of any kind. It’s dark brick looks aged, and the tudor styling with the long, deeply angled roof makes it look almost like it belongs in the middle of the woods rather in this private school parent neighborhood. The front yard is alive with vegetation, and just over the fence, Trixie can make out some taller plants that indicate the promise of a garden.

She double checks the front for a camera before subtly making her way to the hedge fence that starts halfway around the house. She checks windows as she goes to see if whoever owns this place might actually be awake, but all the lights are off, and even better, the curtains drawn. Trixie feels like a detective, snooping for clues on what kind of person might live here. A little old lady who goes to bed before eight o’clock every evening? A family with young children who inherited this house from their long lost aunt? A single cishet man whose home is full of taxidermied animals he hunted himself? A real life witch? For all Trixie knows, a vampire could live here. There doesn’t seem to be any clues indicating anything of use to Trixie. There isn’t even a car in the driveway. Just a run down bike. Maybe whoever lives here isn’t home?

The gate is locked, but upon closer inspection, Trixie realizes that the lock isn’t keeping the gate secured at all—it’s just there for show. She smirks to herself, thinking that whoever this house belongs to must be careless, or just overly trusting. Or maybe there’s actually nothing worthwhile behind the gate.

But when Trixie opens it, her jaw drops. The entire backyard is dedicated to the garden it holds, and there are more plants than Trixie can even name residing in it. She slips in before anyone can notice, and quietly closes the gate behind her before checking one last time to make sure the owner of the garden doesn’t have any security cameras or any lights on. The house is silent.

Now facing the garden that contains everything Trixie hoped for when she left the house, she doesn’t know where to begin, so she decides to try a little bit of everything and examine the different plants, from the amounts of chlorophyll to the tastes that they offer. From the moment Trixie kneels down in the first plant bed, she knows she’s in for a treat. The soil isn’t that cheap, public bought stuff from the park, but good and rich. She already knows that by kneeling down in it, she’s going to come away filthy, her jeans ruined. 

The act of sneaking into someone’s garden and literally getting her hands dirty while she feeds herself has a reaction on Trixie that she isn’t expecting. It’s thrilling, yes, but she can’t help but feel aroused. It reminds her of the time in Buffy when Faith was first introduced and she said  _ Isn't it crazy how slayin' just always makes you hungry and horny? _ Sure, Trixie may not be out here slaying vampires, especially since she  _ is _ one, but she certainly is breaking rules and killing plants. It causes the same effects, so Trixie thinks it counts.

She drains the first plant—a spinach plant by the looks of the leaves, and she thinks that these are going to be hard to beat as far as fill and taste goes. She hadn’t even meant to drain it of all its chlorophyll, but it was so good that she couldn’t control herself. She vows to be more careful next time though as she doesn’t want to kill off all the plants this person has put so much time and dedication towards.

She tries one of each, leaving just enough chlorophyll for each plant to be able to bounce back with their caretaker’s help, but ultimately decides the spinach plant is her favorite. It’s hard to ignore her hunger now that she knows the ins and outs of draining the life out of plants, and especially now that she has a taste for some of the finest plants in the city, probably. The row of spinach plants all but cries out to her and she resorts to take half the chlorophyll from all of them. It seems fair.

Unfortunately, Trixie’s lack of self restraint gets the better of her and by the time she's hit up the last plant, every leaf of spinach on the whole row is pure white. “Shit,” she mutters under her breath, taking a nervous glance at the house, hoping that whoever it is will forgive her for what they would probably consider first degree murder. They have a point, Trixie supposes, as she looks down on the bright white spinach leaves, wondering how long it’ll take before they wither away. 

Maybe she could buy some to replace them another night (not that she’s any good at botany if her history with them has taught her anything), but it would be a kind gesture. And maybe this person doesn’t deserve all this dead spinach in their garden. And if the lack of car is any indication, maybe whoever lives here is on vacation. Maybe Trixie will be able to replace all the dead plants before they return or before they install a security camera.

She takes note of how many spinach plants there are, twelve in total, before standing up, assessing the level of soilage on her jeans and wiping off what she can, but mostly in just smears and leaves residue on her hands. If no one was suspicious of her out walking before, they sure would be now. And what if the person who lives here isn’t home because they work late? What if they see Trixie walking home on their way back and put two and two together?

Her worries are both eased and accelerated when she sees a light on the second floor flip on. It’s dim, but it’s enough to alert her that not only is someone home, but they are  _ awake _ . Trixie scrambles to the part of the hedge closest to her and clears it in a leap she’s positive she couldn’t have done a few days ago, and maybe not even when she first arrived here and deprived all the spinach of their chlorophyll. But thanks to them, she feels strong enough to flee the premises, and maybe call Kim when she reaches the entrance of the neighborhood. It’s late, but she’s sure her roommate is up worried about her, newly vamped and out in the middle of the vulnerable nighttime.

But first, Trixie has to run. She considers stealing the bike leaning against the side of the house, but decides against it. If they don’t have a car, that might be their main source of transportation. And anyway, hasn’t she taken enough from them?

There’s no movement that Trixie can detect from the house, which means they probably just got up to use the bathroom or something, but still. Trixie may have better hearing but it isn’t  _ that _ good, and she doesn’t want to stick around and find out she was wrong. So she leaves, running like a jogger and not a criminal until she makes it to the entrance of the neighborhood where she takes a seat on the convenient bench that no one probably ever sits on.

When Kim answers the phone, it’s clear that Trixie woke her up. “What do you want?” she grumbles, and Trixie gasps in mock outrage.

“You went to sleep?”

“It’s late, and I have a test tomorrow. Of course I  _ went to sleep _ .” Kim sighs in Trixie’s silence and then asks, “Why? What’s going on? Did you fall down a flight of stairs in your reverse vampire nightly clumsiness?”

“It’s a little more complicated than that, Kim. Can you come get me?” Kim groans. “You would come get me if I were a real vampire and called you in the middle of the night because I was covered in blood, or if I were trapped somewhere in the middle of the day, wouldn’t you?”

“Yeah,” Kim admits, and Trixie says nothing, waiting for the agreement she knows is coming. “Fine. Send me your location and I’ll be right there.” 

It only takes Kim a few minutes to get there, and Trixie doesn’t waste any more seconds before diving into the car. She considers that she should have asked Kim to bring a towel so she wouldn’t track dirt into her car, but most of it is on Trixie’s knees anyway.

“What the fuck?” Kim says when she takes in the sight of Trixie, who doesn’t have any more time to be sitting around this close to the crime scene. She impatiently motions to the gear shift.

“Come on, Kim, what are you waiting for? Drive!”

“What the fuck,” Kim mutters again, though to Trixie’s relief, she finally starts to drive. “You know, for some reason I expected being a reverse vampire to be less…criminal.”

“No kidding,” Trixie says. “I’m going to need to start my own home garden or something.”

“Or just shop better. You can probably make due with some good green juices and organic vegetables. We can go to the farmer’s market this weekend if you can hold off in the meantime. You probably shouldn’t go out in the middle of the night too much either. How do you feel?”

Trixie snorts. She feels better than she had before, definitely. She isn’t hungry anymore, but with all the exposure to the nighttime, she can feel the weakness trickling back in to her system. “Like I shouldn’t be out in the middle of the night.” Kim hums. “But I have to go back there tomorrow, if I can.”

“What? Why?” Kim asks, and Trixie can already tell she doesn’t like the plan, even though she hasn’t been caught up yet on what happened. So Trixie tells her. She starts with the park corner and figuring it out, navigating spaces that are too well lit before seeking out that neighborhood and finding the greatest garden in the history of all gardens. She doesn’t leave out any details, not even those about being horny. Kim rolls her eyes. 

“So I need to go buy some spinach plants to replace the ones I killed. Hopefully whoever lives there won’t have their garden on surveillance before tomorrow night. It’s my best chance to fix it.” Trixie sighs as she collapses onto one of the kitchen chairs (Kim refused to let her sit on the couch until she’d gotten herself cleaned up). 

“Well you’re in luck, because there’s a garden store not that far from here. We can go in the morning and get your spinach plants.”

“Thanks, Kim.”

“Whatever, I’m going back to sleep. Take a shower,” she says, leaving the room without another word.

There’s no point in putting it off, so Trixie takes her shower. It’s nice, but she feels weaker by the second, no longer having it in her to stand as she gets out. She doesn’t bother redressing as she gets back to her room, resigning to collapse naked onto the bed. She’d wrongly thought that simply being inside during nighttime wouldn’t be so draining, but it hadn’t occurred to her that it isn’t so much the presence of night that is causing her weakness, but a lack of sunlight.

She orders a sunlamp on Amazon and wishes she had it now.

The next few hours are nothing short of agonizing. Since Trixie isn’t tired, she can’t fall asleep, but her body is starting to ache with a feverish pain that reminds her of having the flu. She’s sure that if nighttime killed reverse vampires the same way sunlight kills regular vampires, she would be dead right now. But maybe the research she read wasn’t accurate and she’s  _ actually _ dying right now? What if she doesn’t make it to dawn? She wonders if it would be better to open her window so that the first rays of light would find her with no obstacles between them, but then the nighttime exposure would increase. She doesn’t know which would be better, but she doesn’t think she has enough energy to open the window anyway.

Across the room, Vampy sits on her dresser in his dark corner. Trixie scowls at him. She isn’t mad about the circumstances overall, but right now as she lies here, helpless until sunrise, she can’t help but feel bitter. Especially since Vampy has had more than his fill of blood (from  _ her _ , Trixie might add) and is newly settled into a better, darker environment. She wasn’t sure how he was affected by sunlight, but indirect light seems to make him look just a little brighter. A happy medium of plant and vampire—in the opposite way of Trixie.

A couple of hours before the sun rises, Trixie manages to fall asleep. She only gets about two hours in, but it feels like more than enough, and she’s grateful to be able to get up and open the window at the first hints of sunlight. It isn’t enough, so she drags herself out of bed to go and sit on the porch. It’s where Kim finds her after the sun is fully risen.

“Oh my god, you look like shit,” Kim says, looking alarmed and sounding concerned. 

“Yeah,” Trixie says. “I bought a sun lamp online. I thought I was going to die last night.” It’s an exaggeration, but she can’t deny that the thought occurred to her.

“Why didn’t you come and get me?”

“I didn’t want to bother you again. And I couldn’t get up anyway, so,” Trixie shrugs. “I feel better now though, and I don’t think that will be a problem forever once I get a routine.”

“And some juice. Come on, get dressed,” Kim says, kicking the chair of the porch leg. “We can go get you some FDA approved chlorophyll and then spinach plants for your mystery victim.” 

They hit up a few stores before Trixie has a solid supply of green juices from multiple brands. She figures the best thing to do is to test a few and see which ones are the most helpful (and taste the best of course) until she decides on her favorites, and of course, starts her own little garden on the balcony of the apartment.

She and Kim deposit all of Trixie’s juices at home, with the exception of the one she selected for her breakfast, and they head out to the garden store. Kim only knows about the place because her friend Naomi had worked there for a whole day last year, and after she mentioned it last night, Trixie remembered that her botany teacher had recommended it.  _ It’s run by one of my former students _ she had told them. She hadn’t given any more information other than they had graduated only a few years ago, and now as they approach the entrance, Trixie wonders if it’s someone she might recognize.

The garden store isn’t what she expected. She thought it would look something like the garden section of a Walmart—with the ugly concrete floor no one was worried about getting dirty and the shelving that’s just good enough to hold a lot of plants, but she’s proven wrong in an instant. This store is more along the lines of a florist shop—dark hardwood floors, lots of natural light, both from the front and overhead. There are plants everywhere, and it would look chaotic if it weren’t so beautiful. Not to mention, it smells amazing. Being in here doesn’t feel much like being inside at all, and Trixie would live here if she were allowed.

“I’m gonna look around,” Kim says, nudging Trixie further into the shop. “You go ask her about your plants.” She nods once toward the counter before disappearing behind a shelf of flowers, and it’s then that Trixie notices her.

The woman behind the counter is stunning—there’s no other way to put it. Her beauty is effortless and genuine. It’s clear in the way that she holds herself and occupies herself with the plant in front of her that she’s in her element, and everything that makes up  _ her _ —from her plant business to her punk clothes to the wildness of her dark hair—is authentic and true to herself. Trixie would be surprised if she wasn’t the owner of the whole place. She does look young enough to have graduated, she notes idly as she forces her way up to the counter.

Her mouth is dry from the way she let it hang open moments ago, and she drinks some of her juice before she has to speak. She’s really hoping that the woman is so invested in the plant she’s tending to that she won’t notice Trixie until she’s actually standing at the counter, but of course, she isn’t so lucky, and instead they awkwardly makes eye contact before Trixie finishes her drink. The crease of concentration on the woman’s forehead remains present when she looks up, but she waits until Trixie has screwed the top back on the bottle before saying anything. “Hey, can I help you find anything?”

“Um, yeah,” Trixie says. She doesn’t think she can really blush anymore, being part of the living undead and all, but she feels like she is anyway. She gives her best smile and walks the remaining steps to the counter. “I need spinach plants,” she says with all the confidence she has. No amatuer gardener is going to buy as many spinach plants as she’s about to, and she doesn’t want to look weird or foolish. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem like it’s going to be an option because the woman frowns at her.

“Spinach plants,” she repeats, like it was meant to be a question, but it doesn’t come out as one. It makes Trixie feel embarrassed.

“Yeah,” she says, trying not to let it show. “Do you sell those?”

The woman hesitates, a concentrated expression on her face. “We do. How many are you looking to buy?”

“Twelve,” Trixie says. Her confidence is draining, and she kicks herself, remembering she was going to get a few for herself. 

“Twelve?” the woman asks her. She doesn’t sound surprised so much as she does…something else. She’s looking at Trixie with an expression that she has no idea how to interpret, or even where to begin to place it. She wishes Kim were standing next to her so she could see it and analyze it with her on the way home, but she’s still wandering around the store somewhere, out of sight. 

“Thirteen?” Trixie answers, figuring its her best chance to throw another one in to take home with her, just to make sure she knows how to take care of it. When the woman doesn’t say anything, Trixie starts to babble. “I just remembered that I needed another one for…” she trails off, realizing she’s stupid for even saying anything else. “Science,” she finishes. She thinks that she’ll probably never be able to set foot in this place again. 

The woman blinks at her, unimpressed. “For science,” she repeats.

Trixie feels irritated, and can’t stop herself when she says, “Are you just going to repeat everything I say?” This surprises the shopkeeper, and for the first time since she looked at Trixie, her expression softens some, but not enough that Trixie feels bad for snapping at her. 

“No, it’s just—” the woman starts, before cutting herself off. She attempts to start a few sentences but doesn’t get any of them out enough for Trixie to understand, and then she gives up with a wave of her hand. “I’ve never seen you in here before.”

“That’s because I’ve never been in here before,” Trixie says, her voice already on the defense, ready to stand strong and prove that she isn’t a plant newbie making a dedicated purchase of more than a dozen plants. “And I’m starting to think I should have just gone…to my  _ regular _ garden store,” she says, thinking that’s going to make all the difference, but instead it just makes the woman laugh. Trixie huffs. “What?”

“There isn’t anywhere else,” she tells Trixie, obviously still amused.

Now, Trixie doesn’t know much about garden stores, but she’s almost certain there are other garden stores in the world, so she says, “You don’t own the only garden store in the world.”

“No, but I do own the only garden store in the city,” she answers, confirming that she’s exactly who Trixie thought she was. “I’m Katya, by the way,” she introduces, holding out her hand, but Trixie only squints at her.

“So,  _ Katya _ , do you have spinach plants or not?” 

The two of them stare each other down for a long moment before Katya sighs and walks out from behind the counter, leading Trixie to a shelf more towards the back. She doesn’t see Kim as they navigate the space. “Right here,” she says, gesturing towards the plants. Maybe it’s insane, but Trixie thinks she could have literally sniffed them out in the store. “And you’re in luck because this is the last stock I’ll have of them for a while.”

“Oh. Is it not spinach season?” Trixie asks, immediately regretting it. So much for not looking like a plant amateur—not that her remaining chances were very high anyway.

Katya gives her another funny look. “Spinach doesn’t really go out of season,” she says, crossing her arms. She’s clearly starting to get suspicious, but considering the insanity of Trixie’s circumstances, she feels like she has nothing to hide. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”

Just then, Kim rounds the corner, and Trixie sees an opportunity. She grabs Kim by the arm and pulls her over. “This is my friend Kim. She’s the one with the green thumb. I’m just here helping her pick up some spinach plants.” 

“Oh hell no,” Kim says, pulling away. “I’ll do a lot of shit for you, Trixie, but I’m not going to lie about petty plant stuff. Especially not after last night. Let me know when you’ve got it all sorted and I’ll help you take them to the car.” 

Trixie groans as Kim walks past them, and she tries not to focus on the expression Katya is giving her. “It’s a long story,” she says, not offering to elaborate because she doesn’t owe this woman an explanation. “I’m in a botany class,” she says, and Katya’s face lights up.

“I majored in botany.”

“I figured,” Trixie says. “Anyway, I need the spinach for a project.”

Katya doesn’t look convinced, but she walks Trixie back to the register and rings her up for thirteen spinach plants anyway. “Do you know how to plant them?” Even though Trixie doesn’t have the faintest idea, she doesn’t dignify the question with an answer. “I only have twelve in stock, by the way. Is that going to be a problem?”

Trixie sighs, knowing that means she’ll have to come back for her own another time. Her return here was probably inevitable after all, especially if Katya is right about this being the only plant store in the city. “That’s fine. When will you have them back in stock?”

“It’s hard to say,” Katya tells her with a desolate sigh, “But you’re welcome to check back whenever. Or if you need any other plants.” She rings up the spinach plants, and it occurs to Trixie that if anyone knows which plants have the most chlorophyll, it would probably be someone like Katya. She may as well make the most out of her visit. And anyway, it isn’t as though she could embarrass herself further. 

“Which plants have the highest chlorophyll concentration?”

She knows it’s probably a weird question, and she’s expecting a curious reaction, but if anything Katya just looks alarmed. Maybe even a little bit irritated. “Spinach is definitely up there,” she says, eyeing Trixie with apparent caution. “Kale. Collard greens, matcha, green cabbage, and of course most green vegetables like broccoli and asparagus, to name a few.”

Trixie considers adding one to her purchase, but the way Katya is looking at her makes her vaguely uncomfortable so she decides against it. She doesn’t want to look any  _ more _ suspicious. “Okay,” she says, avoiding Katya’s pointed gaze and instead turning to look for Kim to ask her to start loading the spinach into the car.

She pays for the spinach plants in silence, and neither she nor Katya say anything until Trixie is about to leave. “Hey, if you have any questions about planting them or taking care of them, feel free to call the store, or come by. I’d be more than happy to help out.” She smiles at Trixie, but she still has a glint of suspicion in her eye that Trixie doesn’t know what to make of.

“Sure. Thanks,” she says before leaving the shop without another word. Kim already has all twelve spinach plants in the car and is waiting for Trixie in the driver’s seat.

“What was all that about?” Kim asks as soon as Trixie closes the door behind her, already on her phone googling about how to plant spinach. “I couldn’t tell if you were trying to impress her or not, but I think the general idea is that being the one who actually wants the plants gives you a better chance with the person who literally owns a plant store. You know, like, as opposed to your friend aka me.”

Trixie rolls her eyes. “It wasn’t that. She was weird. Like, the way she was looking at me. I can’t describe it, but she looked almost suspicious. Maybe it really  _ is _ weird for someone to want twelve spinach plants all at once, experienced or not.”

Kim laughs, “Or maybe she’s the one whose garden you viciously attacked last night, and she’s connecting the dots.”

“Don’t even joke. And anyway, I doubt it. That neighborhood is full of Karens. I could  _ not _ see her living there with all those  _ rosé-all-day _ soccer moms.”

“And  _ I  _ couldn’t see a  _ rosé-all-day _ soccer mom having a garden like the one you described.” Trixie groans. “Maybe a witch lives there. And this whole thing will turn into a Sondheim musical. Witches are probably real, you know. Since vampires are.”

“You aren’t making me feel better.”

“Would you feel better if I tagged along later?”

Trixie scoffs. “How else did you expect me to get twelve spinach plants over there?” But of course, saying it outloud just makes the entire task seem more daunting.

And here Trixie thought her biggest concern was planting them correctly.

**xxx**

Later that night, after Trixie spent as much time as possible in the sun or near a window, as well as ingested as much green juice and organic vegetables as she could, she and Kim started getting everything ready for tonight’s mission. They’d gotten gloves and shovels and any other items they might need for the process and loaded them up with the spinach plants that had spent the day locked away from Trixie in Kim’s car.

“Do you think they’re still okay? I don’t know what happens to plants when they’re left in cars.” Trixie turns around to look at them in the faint glow of the streetlamps. “They  _ look _ okay. They  _ smell _ delicious.”

Kim rolls her eyes. “I’m sure they’re fine. And even if they aren’t, they’re better than the ones you left behind yesterday.” 

And she’s right. 

When they get there, the lights in the house are off, and the spinach plants are lined up inside the fence next to the gate, in pots like maybe they’re being given another chance or are about to be sent somewhere and experimented on. They’re as pale as Trixie had left them, only tonight they look a little more wilty. Kim seems obsessed with how unnatural they look without their chlorophyll, and Trixie has to remind her not to talk several times.

She goes around back first to check and make sure there weren’t any security cameras installed over the past twenty-four hours and to ensure it looks like whoever lives here has turned in for the night. Her hearing is much better, an asset that she takes full advantage of now, listening for any signs of movement or noise, but she can’t hear anything. She hopes that has more to do with the resident sleeping than the probable flaws in her advanced hearing.

When she’s sure the coast is clear, she has Kim drive closer with the headlights off, parking in the road between the house with the garden and their neighbor, and she meets Trixie just outside the gate next to the house, garden tools in one hand and the first spinach plant in the other. “I’ll start bringing the rest back,” Kim whispers as Trixie takes the plant and tools from her.

Having looked into gardening some, especially with spinach plants, Trixie feels better about this mission than she did earlier, but still, she isn’t fully confident. She keeps telling herself that it’ll be  _ fine _ . Whoever owns this garden will see the spinach plants tomorrow and take it from there. If anything was wrong with Trixie’s methods, they will soon be corrected.

She works as quickly as she can, sneaking glances up at the house every so often and pausing to listen for movement. Fortunately, everything remains still and quiet. Kim starts helping her with the plants once she’s brought them all back, but since Kim wasn’t studying up on gardening, it doesn’t take any less time.

On the second to the last plant, the nighttime kicks in like it had before, but Trixie doesn’t feel drained as quickly as she had the previous night. She knows that she’ll finish successfully and make it back in time to get some chlorophyll in her system and hope that tonight doesn’t hurt as much as the night before, but either way, she thinks it’ll be worth it for fixing this person’s garden.

**Author's Note:**

> OH MY GOD PLEASE TELL ME ALL YOUR THOUGHTS, UNFILTERED AND UNINHIBITED. seriously i love writing this. if there's something you want to see feel free to tell me!!!!! chapter two is underway, with more katya don't worry. you can find me on tumblr at @/chxrrybombtrix!! :) thank you for reading!!


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